Monthly Archives: May 2012

(The following information is provided by Action Surrey which we are happy to reproduce. It’s very good news for anyone wanting to reduce their heating bills.)

Action Surrey in partnership with your local authority and through UK Home Insulations Ltd is now able to offer free insulation for all homeowners or private tenants (with the landlord’s permission). Previously the offer of free insulation was only available to those over 70 or in receipt of benefits, however now insulation is free for all*.

Reasons to insulate your house now!

1. Cavity wall and loft insulation can save you in excess of £300 a year in energy bills** as well as making your house more comfortable to live in. Being warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer!

2. Insulate your house now ready for next winter and ahead of the gas increases that are expected to hit everyone this year.

3. The current subsidy scheme that is now giving insulation free to everyone is due to the change at the end of this year! The current scheme will be replaced by the Government’s Green Deal whereby a loan based scheme will be attached to the property and paid off by savings in the energy bill. Alternatively, homeowners can pay up front but the installation cost either way will be a lot higher than when the free insulation offer has been removed.

Contact Action Surrey today for a free, no obligation survey of your property.

Struggling to clear your loft? Action Surreycan also help with this too. Your loft could be cleared for free if you are over the age of 70 or in receipt of benefits.

*subject to survey and property size. ** Based upon Energy Saving Trust figures for a gas heated 3 Bed Semi Detached House. Free Insulation does not include extra work such as down light covers, scaffolding, moving items from the loft, insulating water tanks or installing vents. Energy companies currently subsidise insulation to meet energy efficiency targets set by the Government Carbon Energy Reduction Targets.

Transition Redhill invites you to visit the Climate Jobs Caravan in Redhill on Thursday 24 May 2012.

The Climate Jobs Caravan is coming to Redhill as part on a tour of Britain that will take in 25 towns and cities across the country to promote climate jobs. The tour, organized by the trade union arm of the Campaign against Climate Change, starts in London and Edinburgh on 12th May. (http://www.campaigncc.org/climatejobscaravan)

In Redhill the Climate Jobs Caravan can be found in the town centre alongside the market. The message of the tour will be simple: the creation of climate jobs can help solve both the economic and climate crisis. It will be promoting jobs in areas like public transport, home insulation and renewable energy. It will argue that one million climate jobs could be created, cutting CO2 emissions by 80%. It will be calling for the Government to set up a National Climate Service (NCS) to invest in climate jobs.

Suzanne Jeffery, Chair of the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, said, “Investing in climate jobs would be a win-win situation. It would help solve both the economic and environmental crises. With 2.5 million people unemployed and climate change threatening the future of our planet, we are dismayed that the Government is refusing to seriously invest in climate jobs.”

Transition Redhill supports the Campaign against Climate Change and the visit of the Climate Jobs Caravan to help raise awareness of climate issues and interest in climate related jobs to benefit the local community.

The town of Todmorden in West Yorkshire is aiming to be self-sufficient in food by 2018.

This extraordinarily ambitious goal is supported by a local food growing scheme called Incredible Edible, which has spawned vegetable plots throughout the town: curly kale and carrots outside the police station; apricots and apples on the canal towpath; broccoli at the railway station. Many people have turned their front gardens over to vegetable growing.

And all of this produce is available for free, to anyone who wants it. One grower says: “There’s a nobility to growing food and allowing people to share it. There’s a feeling we’re doing something significant rather than just moaning that the state can’t take care of us. Maybe we all need to learn to take care of ourselves.”

There are also unexpected benefits to the scheme: “The police have told us that, year on year, there has been a reduction in vandalism since we started,” says Pam Warhurst, one of the co-founders of Incredible Edible. ‘We weren’t expecting this. But if you take a grass verge that was used as a litter bin and a dog toilet and turn it into a place full of herbs and fruit trees, people won’t vandalise it. I think we are hard-wired not to damage food.”

21 other towns in the UK are trialling similar schemes, and there is interest in other European countries and places as far afield as Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Could we do something like this in Redhill? We would love to have your views in the Comments below. Better still, come to one of our monthly meetings, where we discuss all sorts of schemes that could lead to greater sustainability and resilience in the local area. Some of these schemes are starting to take shape – more details here soon.